Crystal Eyes
by Ezeray
Summary: A normal girl, a normal life. Living in NYC with her three close friends, Jade was never expecting for her life to completly change in a single night. Her friends convince her to help them all sneak into a secured place, but turns out they were not the only ones with that idea.
1. You In?

_**A/N: Sorry guys for not posting on my TFP fanfic. I've kinda hit a road block on that, but not to worry, I won't let it die out, I'll get back to it eventually. In the meantime, I want to do a little TMNT! so yeah. Enjoy!**_

* * *

5:50 p.m.

* * *

"Are you in?" A small group of teenage friends were sitting by a fountain in Central Park. A boy with dark brown hair and a hoodie with dark jeans looked across to a girl with dark skin, long dark hair, and bright green eyes.

"No! I'm not stupid enough for that." The greenest eyed girl said. Another girl with short blond hair laughed.

"Oh come on! It'll be exciting! I hear they just got a new exhibit!" She piped up.

"I don't care, Audrey. I'm not helping you guys break into the Central Park Zoo."

"Jade, come on-" another boy with black hair said, but was cut off by Jade.

"Guys, that place is crawling with night guards. We would need a stupid hard idea to get in." She protested.

"Yeah, that's what makes it fun! Jack's even willing to take a few risks!" Audrey said and the black haired boy nodded.

"No-" Jade was then cut off by Jack.

"Hey, you're the brains of it all and the speed! If anyone can pull this off, it's you!" Jade shook her head at him. Then the boy with coffee brown hair joined him.

"Jade, they got a new cat. You love cats. Plus, if we get caught, we'll say we got stuck during closing time!" Jade was silent and looked at her friends.

"Alright fine, but Will I'm putting all the blame on you!" Will chuckled and agreed. They all got up and looked at eachother.

"So! When do we start planning?" Audrey asked.

"Right now! We can all go to me and Audrey's place and we'll pull it off tonight!" Jack said and threw down a skate board. He flew off and Audrey grabbed her scooter.

"That's a great idea!" She said and followed her brother. Jack followed suit on his bike and Jade took off on her own board.

* * *

8:20 p.m.

* * *

"Donnie, what'd we got?" Leonado and the other turtles huddled around the contester screens that were managed by Donatello. There had been an alert that the Krang were once again causing trouble.

"The Krang seem to be following a shipping truck. But I'm not sure why." He squinted athe the screen as he typed in code after code. "Let me run a scan of both vehicles... aaaand... hm."

"He what?" Raphael asked.

"The truck has an animal on board. A sort of cat. Snow Leopard to be exact. Aaand..." he examined further and enhanced to video. "It's headed for Central Park Zoo." His eyes wide as he let out a slight gasped.

"What, what is it?" Leo demanded.

"The Krang have at least four canisters of mutagen." Donnie turned away from the screen and to Leo. "It seems like to hey want to he you run... experiments at the zoo."

"Well, looks like we have to go to the zoo!" Michelangelo shouted.

"But this is no field trip... let's go."

* * *

7:30 p.m.

* * *

"Emerald gem, come in E gem." Jack walked outside the front gates of the Central Park Zoo. He talked into a walkie to Jade who was at the complete other side.

"Would you shut up, Jack. And stop it with the code names." She said as she looked at the gates and walls.

"Gold Star likes 'em" Jack said and Audrey came responded back.

"No I dont." She said in a rather loud voice.

"Guys, shut up..." Will was getting annoyed as he stood by a dumpster. "Alright Jade, we're all in possisipn, right Jack and Audrey?"

"Right." They both said at the same time, with caused interface on the walkies.

"Audrey!"

"That's was your fault, Jack!"

"Shut up!" Jade huffed as she scanned the trees. "Okay, I see the branch that goes slightly overy the fence. It's shower and thinner that I remember, but it should do. Will?"

"Yeah I know, wait for your signal. I'm at the dumpster, ready to jump."

"Good, Jack?" Jade said and didn't heard any response. "Jack?"

"Yeah, sorry, there was a truck coming by. Anyways, yeah, destruction the guards!"

"Good, Audrey, I'll be waiting for your signal."

"Got it, E gem."

"Hah! Code name!" Jack said and was a bit too loud. "Oops, I started to divergen early!" A guard then walked up to him.

"It'll do!" She suddenly let out a cry, catching the guards attention again.

"What's that?!" One of them said., turrning away from Jack. At that moment, her swiftly reached his hand threw the bars and grabbed his keys.

"Beats me, but I'll take your advice and head home!" He then ran off and the guard went to the sound of the cry, by then, Audrey was out of sight. Jack met up with her and went to find Will. Jade had already climb the tree at the sound of the cry and jumped into the zoo, making for a tough landing. "Jack, Will, Audrey?"

"Audrey here, we got the key."

"Alright, to the reptile room. I'll be waiting for the key." Audrey and Jack found Will tossing. Him the keys, he was balanced on some creates on top of the dumpster. He caught the keys and jumped up, barley catching himself on the roof of the reptile room.

"Jade, hurry! I didn't get a good jump, I'm barley holding on." He said in a hushed voice.

"Coming! Toss the keys!" Will tossed them and Jade waited to hear the clang. Once heard, spotted and snatched, Jade unlocked the reptile room and then unlocked the back door. "And so. We're in!"


	2. Stay Hidden

_**A/N: Sorry for the ch. 2 repost. I just didn't like the ending so I decided to rewrite it. It's all the same except for the last lil section!**_

* * *

"What?" Was all Jade could say as she looked at her friends.

"Well, black skinny jeans, black boots, black jacket." Will said and Jack joined in with a loud scoff.

"Yeah, you look like a ninja! Where's your black mask?" The three laughed while Jade rolled her eyes at them. She then punched Jack in the shoulder as he laughed louder.

"We're breaking into a secured place! Would you keep it down? And my apologies for trying to stay low. Why did you where yellow and orange of all horrid color combos?" Jade remarked and started to walk off.

"Hey, I like this outfit..." Jack sadly replied and they began to follow.

"Whatever." They kept walking around the massive zoo but didn't seem very interested in anything.

"Jade, why don't we just break I to ever room at the place? You have the key." Audrey said as she pointed at the keys.

"Exactly, I have the keys, I make the decisions, and I-"

"Don't have the keys anymore!" Jack cut Jade off as he swiped the keys away and swung them around.

"Jack, stop being an idiot and give 'em back." Will said to him and reached out to grab them.

"Hey knock it off!" Before long the two boys started fighting over them. Audrey and Jade stood back and exchanged an an amused glance to eachother.

"There they go again.. " Jade said and began to walk away.

"I'm telling ya, Will is always going to fight for you." Jade shoved Audrey softly.

"Shut up, we're friends"

"Yeah close friends since second grade!" Jade shook her head and scoffed then suddenly stopped. "What? Have you finally come to the realization that you two will be married one day?" Jade punched Audrey hard in the arm then quickly shushed her.

"No, shut up... you hear that?" Jade looked back at the boys. Then quickly ran over to them. "Will, Jack, shut up.. somethings coming."

* * *

The four turtles got into the zoo with ease. They walked around, keeping away from the moon light.

"Donnie, where are they?" Leo asked as he kept his guard up.

"They'll be here." Donnie answered with confidence. Leo nodded.

"Seems like they're fashionably late." Leo joked, making Raph scoff.

"Guys look!" Mikey shouted as he spotted something that didn't seem quite right. "That door is open. I thought this place was closed?"

"Let's go check it out." Leo said and ran off, leading the grouphone to the reptile room.

* * *

The group of kids heard voices and ran off and headed for the closest door.

"Jack, unlock the door. We can hide in here." Jack nodded to Jade and unlocked the door. He closed it a and reached locked it and have a sigh of relief.

"Damn, it's dark in here." Jack said and reached for his phone. He turned on his flashlight app and looked sround. "Huh, this looks like a loading dock." The others did the same with their phones and looked around. Suddenly, the door began to open and the sound of a truck backing up could be heard.

"Crap! Hide!" Jade called out. They all ran to some shipping containers and quietly crouched down behind them. They turned off their lights the peered over to see what was going on. A man walked inside helping the truck to back up. It then stopped and the guy opened the door. Other men got out of the truck and they began u loading a huge box.

"What is that?" Will asked as he eyed it. He found that the side of it read 'LIVE ANIMAL.'

"I thought you guys said the cat was already here?" Kade asked and she narrowed her eyes at them.

"Well, it could be something else." Before Jade could argue with Audrey, anot her truck came barking in and it's back doors opened with laser that started to shoot through the air.

"That which is in the box shall be handed over to Kraang at this moment that Kraang is in." More blast were shot, making Jack scream and crouch down lower.

"Robot aliens!" Jack exclaimed and Jade walked his head.

"Shut up! We don't want to be caught by anyone!" Just then, four mutant turtle burst through the door.

"Not so fast!" One of them with a blue mask remarked before running at the robots head on. The other three following right behind.

"Giant turtles! I'm afraid of turtlrs!" Jack said and covered his headwith his hood.

"Guys, look!" Audrey said and pointed to a canister that fell out of the robot alien truck. "What is that?" The tall turtle came in and snatched up the canister, then he was kicked by a robot and it was taken back.

"Well, what ever it is, it's in high demand." Jade said as he looked at the fight then to the door. "We ought to get out of here." She said and be game to make her way to the door. Her friends followed. They dodged blasts and made it to the door. A shot zoomed past Jade's head and hit the door, blasting a hole straight through it.

"That almost killed you!" Will shouted in a panic. Then, a sound came from the fight. "I think we should run. Like, now!" The box had been shot and was beginning to fall apart, and an angry snow leopard was eager to take the opportunity to escape. Soon, it was out and chasing after the four kids.

"I'll distract it, you guys get out of here!" Jade said and splotches off from the group and was soon followed by the cat.

"Jade no!" Will shouted to her and began to chase after both of them.

* * *

The ninja heard a scream and dashed to it. The found the Kraang and immediately started to fight them off.

"Donnie! The mutagen!" Leo yelled and Donnie sprinted to it, but a Kraang started to fight him and got it back. They fought until the snow leopard got out and started chasing the kids.

"Raph!" Donnie yelled as he cut the Kraang droid's hand of. It flew through the air with the mutagen, but before shattered on the ground, Raph caught it with ease.

"I'll go after Mittens, you guys finish the job here!" Raphael said and ran off before anyone could protest. But he was swiftly followed by a Kraang Droid. It quickly caught up to Raph and started to fight him for the mutagen. He kicked him to the ground and the mutagen rolled out of reach from his hand. Raph fought back, stabbing the Kraang and tossing him over his head. He then grabbed the mutagen and dashed after the snow leopard. He saw that another human, a boy, was running the same chase. The girl attempted to jump a bench, but her foot caught and she fell. She was then met with a pounce. The snow leopard was on top of her growling. By then, the boy caught up and went for a clear tackle.

"Will, what are you doing!?" The girl yelled. Raph quickly go to the scene as the kid fought the snow leopard. the cat lashed out a massive paw and sliced into the kid's chest. "Will!" The girl yelled again. Raph moved the kid out of the way and began to fight the cat.

"Alright, Kitty Cat, play time's over." Raph began to fight off the cat, that is until a Kraang droid came flying out of no where. Raph had had the mutagen strapped onto his side, careful not to break it, but when he droid came in, it went flying. The girl had moved the boy out of the way, and unintentionally, acted as a shield wen the canister of mutagen hit the ground and shattered.


	3. Are You Okay?

"Oh, that's not good." Raph said as he continued to fight the Kraang and the snow leopard. The others had caught up and Leo and Mikey started helping Raph while Donnie went to go help the two humans.

"Careful, Donnie! The boy was scratched and the girl got hit with mutagen!" Raph warned as he destroyed the Kraang droid and the snow leopard ran off. The girl had curled up on the ground, whimpering in pain while the boy was out cold. Donnie had somewhat mended his wounds and he would be fine. The turtles all gathered behind Donnie and watched her.

"Mikey, you and me will go after the leopard and at least contain it. Raph, stay with Donnie." Raph nodded to Leo and the two left.

"Should we take her to the lair?" Raph suggested.

"Well, I could sedate her and run some test. She doesn't seem to be reacting to the mutagen very much, which is remarkable and-" suddenly the girl gave out a scream, stopping Donnie mid sentence. The two turtles got back and the boy started to wake up. The girl got to her hands and knees and began to transform.

"Not reacting, huh?" Raph said as he pulled out a sai. But then he stopped, he recognized the girl. She stood up shakily, only she was not just a girl anymore. "Great, another mutant." Donnie took out his weapon, but Raph, he simply stared. She went from a height of 4'8" to 5'7" along with a four foot tail. She had mutated into a snow leopard.

* * *

Will had come to and rubbed his head, but as soon as he saw Jade, he quickly got to his feet, ignoring his own pain.

"Jade?" He said in a concerned voice. Jade started to transform and it completely freaked Will out. "Jade!" He ran to her and she screamed. Security guards could be heard running to the scene. The turtle ninjas fled, but Will stood there in fear.

"Get… get out of here!" Jade yelled as she doubled over, her grey and black spotted coat bristled.

"I.. I'm not leaving you!" Will said, but Jade started to run of.

"Get away!" And with that, she was gone.

* * *

The turtles got to the Shellraiser and sped off.

"Guys, that was crazy! Kraang, mutagen, a leopard thing, and a new mutant!" Mikey shouted in excitement. "I'll call her, Fuzztail! No, Catclaws!"

"You're not callin' her anything." Raph said in an annoyed voice. "She's a human with an actual name"

"She was a human, Raph, she's a mutant now." Donnie corrected. "And that's not good news."

"Donnie's right. She's out there, scared, confused. I mean who knows how she'll react to, well, anything." Leo said, which only made Raph more upset.

"Even more of a reason to leave her alone!" He crossed his arms and avoided eye contact.

"No, it's even more of a reason to find her." Leo glanced back at Raph, suspicion in his eyes. "Something wrong Raph?"

"Nothin's wrong! I just think we should leave her alone, let her figure things out for herself." Raph turned away from his brothers, his temper flaring. "She has at least that right, doe'n't she?" The other three were quiet, then Donnie spoke up.

"Maybe he's right Leo?" He said as he studied his computer screen. "She's confused and scared. Chances are she'll stick to the shadows and just figure everything out."

"Yeah, and there's also a chance she could cause trouble, or worse the Kraang could get her." Leo said as he drove back to the lair. "We go after her tomorrow night, after we devise a plan to catch her."

* * *

Jade was on the run. She stuck to the shadows and moved silently. She breathed heavily, scared of what she had become and confused about how she even became it. But also relived, it was her who got hit with that strange liquid, not Will. Her senses were much more accurate now. So when someone landed behind her, she spun around with great speed. "Who.. while are you?" She questioned at the girl with short hair and a metal mask.

"Name's Karai. And you're coming with us." She said in a smug tone.

"Us?" Her ears perked and pointed behind her. She then turned and only caught a glimpse of a terrifying wolf creature before she got knocked out cold and then tied up.

* * *

"We've been out here for hours!" Mikey complained. It was the next night. The turtles were out looking for the snow leopard and quite frankly, we're not having much luck.

"We just have to be patient. We'll find her." Leo said as he closely watched the area. He glanced back at his team only to see the only one actually looking was Donnie. Mikey was goofing off and Raph... Raph was being quiet and looking away at the far end of the rooftop. "Mikey! Quit goofing off and come take my post." Leo ordered.

"Alright, fine." Mickey, whined in response. Leo waited for Mikey and the went over to Raph.

"So, what's your deal, Raph. It's unlike you to be so quiet." Raph ignored Leo and acted as though he wasn't even there. "What, no sarcastic remark?" Again, Raph ignored him. "Come ok, bro, what's wrong? You've been acting weird since last night." Raph signed as he lowered his head.

"Yeah, weird.." he said and looked at the street below.

"It's about that girl, isn't it?" This time, Raph didn't ignore him, instead, he simply noded. There was a moment of cold silence, but then Raph began to explain.

"Her name is Jade. I met her on accident. She's a fighter. I was out on a patrol with Casey, then we.. I saw her. She was in an alley way, getting mugged. He tried to get her backpack and run, but as soon as I started to step in, she started to fight back. He was stronger than her though. I beat the guy up and got her bag back. I was expected a scream, instead of got a thank you." He paused but still avoided eye contact. "She asked my name, I gave it to her. I asked her why she wasn't scared of me, she just said, 'why be scared of someone who saved me? If we're all scared of simple appearance, it's a cold and lonely world we live in.' She then told me her name, and I offered to take her home. She told me sure, but only if I take her by way of fire escapes and rooftops. So I did, and she was able to keep up. We said our good byes and I haven't seen her since. Until last night, that is." He was silent and Leo just looked at him, he then glanced back and saw that Mikey and Donnie were close behind them, listening to ever world. Leo gave a sigh saying to keep quiet, then Raph continued. "Now she's a mutant and it's all my fault."


	4. Chance

Jade woke up slowly. She was being dragged down a walk way, and she could feel two people holding her arms, one on either side of her. She looked up at them to see that they weren't people at all. Instead, she saw a humanoid tiger and the skeletal wolf creature that knocked her out on the other.

"Stop!" A deep voice from up ahead commanded the two and they dropped her. She fell to her hands and knees and she slowly looked up. "Stand, child." She did as she was told, getting on her feet.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

"Silence!" The man sitting on a stone throne and in full armor shouted. "Untie her!" The tiger raised a massive paw and swiped down on the ropes that binded Jade. Then, without taking his stare away Jade, he comanded again. "Karai, I'd like to see if the things they say about this one are true." Jade saw that the girl with the metal mask was close by him. She cracked her knuckles.

"With pleasure, father." Chuckling, Karai charged at Jade, she had her fist back, ready to strike. Jade acted on impulse and leaped over Karai, clearing her with ease. Her new animal instincts combined with her refined human intuition. It felt odd, yet at the same time, right. Karai yelled and came at her again. She jumped up, kicking her in the chest. Jade flew backwards, but quickly got back up. She growled, but Karai kept coming. She double kicked her then spun around for a round house kick, but Jade stopped it with her hand. She Karai had on foot on the ground and one in Jade's hand. Jade looked her in the eye and growled again.

"My turn.." She threw Karai to the side. As she tried to get her balance back, Jade came running at her with great speed. She swept her leg and hit Karia's legs, knocking her to the ground. She flipped back up, throwing a few punches at Jade, but she dodged every one of them. She punched Karai in the stomach and jumped up, spinning around and kicking her side. It sent her flying. At this point, Karai was starting to get ticked. She pulled out a katana and charged her again. She stuck at Jade, but she moved just in time. Only a tiny bit of fur was cut from her cheek. Jade continuesly dodged until she grabbed her arm, twisted it around until she dropped the sword. She then hit her legs, knocking her to her knees. Karai was pinned with no more moves to help her.

"Enough!" The mad yelled. "Let her go!" Jade looked up. She had forgotten him in the midst of the battle and let her go. She stood as Karai then fell to her hands and knees. "You are a great fighter as they say."

"Who's they?" She asked with confusion.

"Your dojo, your sensei and your fellow students. You are the best in your class." Jade thought for a minute then quickly remembered the dojo she would go to, two-three times a week.

"My karate class?" She asked. She wondered how could a simple karate class hold so much importance.

"It was more than a karate class, Jazmyn." Jade had a col d and sharp shiver run down her back to the tip of her tip. Not many ever used her real name. "Now, I recruit you to join the Foot Clan." Her eyes widened at the offer. She knew of the Foot and her ears went down.

"No. I know who you are... And I am not joining your clan.." The man scoffed as Jade got tense.

"Then allow me to provide an incentive." He said coldly. A TV screen raised from the floor in front of Jade and there she saw her father and little brother in what looked like a cell.

"No..." Jade whispered. Her heart broken at the understanding of what the Shredder had done.

"You join us and fight for the Foot or your dear family will pay with their lives." Shredder stood and the TV lowered once more. He walked up to her and placed a blade right under her chin. "Your choice, Jazmyn.."

* * *

Leo put a hand on Raph's shoulder, but he simply looked down, still avoiding eye contact.

"It's not your fault. How could you know that she would be there at that exact time? It was all... chance." Leo said, offering up his best words of wisdom.

"Yeah, chance.." Raph said and stood up. He walked away from them and jumped to the next rooftop over, then the next until he was gone.

"Raph!" Donnie called out and started to follow him, but Leo stopped him.

"Let him go. We don't want to stir him up and have him yelling at all of us again." Leo walked off on the opposite direction, signalling to the other two to follow.

* * *

Jade couldn't belive the deal she had just made. She turned away from everyone in the room and began to walk out. Then she stopped at the sound of Shredder's voice.

"Double cross me, girl, and I'll make sure your family pays." She let out a low growl and then continued to walk out. She walked around the lair, examining the place. The air was stiff and it all had an eerie feel about it. She needed to get out.

Jade left the lair and jumped onto the nearest fire escape. She got to the roof and walked along, her tail flicking in anger and annoyance. She tripped as she looked to the next rooftop, she saw the distance and backed up for a running start. She leaped across and landed roughly on the other side. She still wasn't used to this new body. Her clothes were ripped but some of it's colors blended with her fur. No matter, she still needed new clothes.

Jade's mind was cluttered. She couldn't stop thinking of her family and of her friends. She wondered what became of them after she left. And what about her mother? She wasn't in the cell with her father and brother. She needed to distract herself for a moment. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. It was just too much. She began to run. She eventually got I to a full on sprint, but running on two legs was difficult. Something she had done her whole life now just felt so very wrong. She jumped onto the next rooftop, but this time, she landed on four paws. She seemed confused at first, but continued to run on all fours. It felt unnatural, yet at the same time completly normal. She huffed and continued to run. Out of nowhere a swift object got in her way. She ran right into it and both of them went tumbling down the rooftop. Jade stopped right before the roof ended, inches from the ledge.

* * *

Raphael quickly moved from rooftop to rpoftop. He knew his brothers were not following, but regardless, he didn't care. He wasn't sure if he wanted to find Jade or leave her be. He was muttering to himself when suddenly he was hit hard. He tumbled down but quickly stopped himself and got up. He pulled out his sais and looked around, ready to fight. Then he saw her at the ledge.

"Hey!" He quickly put his sais away and ran over. He bent down to her to see if she was okay. Her eyes opened and she panicked, which almost sent he off the edge. "Hey hey, take it easy!" Raph said and grabbed her arm. She quickly took hold of his arm and sunk her claws in. "Ah!" He yelled and let go, but she still had him. She then looked up to meet his eyes and she suddenly stopped.

"Raphael?"


	5. Jade and Raph

"Jade." Raph quickly went over to her and she flinched, backing away. "Careful! It's alright..." she was now extremely close to the edge.

"Raphael..." Jade said again and slowly got up. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah... yeah it is." He went over to her and knelt down to help her up. She unsteadily got to her feet, or rather, paws and held on to Raph's arms for support.

"I'm sorry; I'm not exactly used to this new body yet." Jade let go as she regained her balance and then looked to meet Raph's eyes. "Heh, I forgot how green your eyes were." She said and smiled.

"I didn't forget yours." He said and gave a nervous chuckle. "How, uh, how've you been?"

"Well, it was alright, for the most part. I haven't gotten mugged again. I guess they learned their lesson about trying to beat me up." Jade chuckled and Raph did too.

"Ha, yeah, there's always back-up nearby!" Raph smiled and shifted his weight. "So, how long's it been now, four, five months?" he asked, "You know, since the mugging?" Jade sighed and turned around, gesturing with a head nod to follow. She sat on the edge of the building, her legs dangling down.

"Something like that…" Jade said as Raph came and sat down close beside her. "It seems like years since that happened, but I've seen you guys around when I go up to the roof at night."

"Huh, some ninjas we are, can't even stay hidden." Raph jokingly said.

"Ha, yeah, nice going." She gently punched him and he chuckled and punched her back. It got quiet and Raph decided to mention the one fact that was a bit hard to ignore.

"So, last night… I didn't realize that was you." Jade's light smile slowly faded as she looked downwards. She didn't say anything, which made Raph worry. "I mean, in the middle of all the craziness, I didn't have time to recognize any human faces, just Kraang freaks." He tried to explain. "I really didn't mean to let this happen to you… I'm really sorry." There was more silence for a while, then Jade took deep breath.

"It wasn't your fault… you were just doing your job and keeping priorities as priorities… it's just… I can't go back to my normal life anymore.." Her voice began to crack and tears began to form in her eyes as a mixture of sadness and frustration took over. "My family is locked up, there's no telling where my mother is, if she's even alive. The Foot is forcing me to work for them!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slowdown. What happened? The Foot, your family.. This all happened in one night?"Raph began to look concerned and irritated. "What did Shredder do to you?" Jade sighed a shaky sigh and stood up.

"He kidnapped them. Except for my mother. I'm not sure where she is... But maybe we can find out." Raph stood up and faced her.

"We?" He asked and Jade met his eyes with as she wiped her tears away.

"Yeah, we. I may need backup. I'm going back to my apartment, maybe there's something there that can help lead us to my mom." Raph nodded quickly and got into a stance to show that he was ready to go.

"Of course I'll help! Let's go now!" Jade smiled softly at Raph and then it faded as she looked to the next building.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jade then took a few steps back and ran. she launched herself onto the rooftop while Raph followed close behind her.

* * *

Half an hour passed with not many words passed around between Jade and Raphael. They made it to her apartment and found the fire escape that opened up into her room. She manage to open it and without a sound, they both sneaked in.

"Weird.." She said as she looked around in the dim lighting. "Everything is exactly how I left it.." Raph looked around and spotted a terrarium with a dim light shining on it.

"What's that?" He asked and Jade looked over.

"Oh!" She said as a smile can to her face. She ran over, jumping on her bed then jumping off to get around Raph. "Mr. Banana!" She joyfully said. She then turned the brightness on the lamp up a little.

"You have a pet turtle?" Raph said with a slight half smile.

"Yeah! I've had him for years! My whole life basically." She looked at Mr. Banana through the glass, a nostalgic and happy gleam in her eyes.

"Did you come up with that name all by yourself?" Raph asked as her went over to look at the close relative of the red-eared slider.

"Actually, no. It was my friend, Will; we were four years old at the time and he begged for me to keep that name, and I promised I would. And so I did." Her smile slightly faded as she remembered her three close friends. "I hope they're okay.. she said to herself." There was some silence, so Raph looked around and then grabbed little container beside the tank.

"So, this is what you feed your turtle? 'River Shrimp Bites'?" He read aloud with a joking scoff.

"Yeah, he loves shrimp. That and the occasional time I give him krill." She said as she then took it gently and sprinkled some into the tank. She softly smiled as she watched Mr. Banana eat the little dried shrimp bites.

"I had a pet turtle. He loved lettuce. " Raph said and Jade scoffed and slightly laughed.

"A turtle mutant with a pet turtle meets a human girl who also has a pet turtle. What are the odds?" She rhetorically asked.

"Well, if my brother, Donnie, were here, he'd tell you." She looked slightly confused, so Raph explained. "He basically has the brain of a computer." Jade then nodded in understanding.

"Well, while I'm her, I'll just go do the other chores." Jade said as she picked up a dirty t-shirt and tossed it into a hamper across the room. "That takes care of my room." She said then went over to her bedroom door that lead to the hallway. Once she had opened the door, she gasped at what she saw.

"What? What's wrong?" Raph said as he took out his sais and rushed over. "Oh dang.." he said as he saw that every picture was shattered and littered the ground. They walked out of her room. and looked around.

"It's... it's all trashed.." She said as she looked at the disaster. "They wrecked everything..." She went to the living room and saw that their fish tank was cracked and and been leaking like a waterfall. "No!" She quietly shouted as she ran to the kitchen. She grabbed a big glass jar then rushed to the fish tank. She scooped up some water then found a fishing net and caught her four small fish and put them into the jar. "There... hey, can you get me a towel from the bathroom? First door to the left." She said pointing at the hall. Raph nodded and quickly grabbed a few towels. He ran over and put the towels over the spilt water.

"Dang, they really hit everyone..." He said as he helped pick up broken glass from the ground. Jade cleared a spot on the counter and put her fish there and went back to help.

"Thanks, Raphael, I'd hate for my cat to drink any of this fish water. It has softeners and medicine for fish."

"You have a cat too?" Raph asked, trying to pull her attention from how bad the wreckage was, but she looked distraught as she cleaned up her home.

"Yeah.. her name is Chinarose. She's completely black, so careful. Her eyes are greenish-yellow, so you might spot that first." She lighten up slightly but not much.

"Good to know..." Raph said as he continued to cleanup. He found a trash can and stood it up. He dumped all the glass and trash that he had gathered into it. Jade sighed as she stood and looked around.

"Let's... let's go and try to find my mom..." She said softly and began to walk back down the hallway. She went into her parents room and saw that it took was trashed. There was a soft mew heard from behind the bed that was flipped over. Jade ran over and found her cat. "China rose!" She struggled to pick the bed up and Raph came over, helping her to lift it. The cat ran out from underneath the wood frame and mewed loudly in pain as she ran. "No, no, come here." She hissed as Jade ad backed away. Her black fur on her leg and tail was tainted red with blood. "Chinarose, it's me, Jade." She knelt down to her eye level and the cat stopped hissing.

"I'll get another towel." Raph said and ran out of the room. He quickly came back with a red towel and helped to wrap Chinarose in it. "We can take her back to the lair and Donnie and Master Splinter can help fix her up." He said and went over to the window. "My brothers can also help you get your family out." He said as he opened the window and halfway stepped out. Jade continued to sit with her cat in her arms. "Jade?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm coming..." Raph stayed quiet and sat outside on the fire escape, giving her a moment. "I'll find them, Chinarose, we'll fix you up and we'll come home and everything will go back to normal. I promise." The cat seemed to mew and nod in understanding. Jade stood up and went over to the window, but before she stepped out the cat mewed in urgency and pawed towards the bed. "It's okay, I'll fix it and clean it up later.." The cat mewed louder as she began to walked again. "What?" She asked then went over to the bed. "Okay, I'm here, what?" Chinarose mewed again and her eyes caught the reflection of something. "What the..?" She said as she moved some broken wood and ripped sheets. "Whoa." She said as she picked it up carefully.

"You okay, Jade?" Raph asked as he began to get slightly worried.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She said and went to meet him outside. "Check it out, one of the Foot dropped a katana!" Raph scoffed as she walked out.

"Those idiots." He said then his eyes widened as he saw the katana. "Wait a minute... Can I see that?" He asked and Jade handed it to him. "This... this doesn't belong to the Foot Clan... It belongs to the Hamato Clan..."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry for the delay! Been busy, as usual. But here it is! Chapter 5! Also, references to the author -me- include the little fish, Mr. Banana and Chinarose. I have a turtle named that in a glass tank and yes, my four year old friends and I named it. And I have a solid black cat named Chinarose. And I have fish. But I also have four other cat's, a beta fish, and a dog named Scruffy! And my grandpa has a dog, and since we live by each other, he might as well be our dog too. Okay, I'm done with my pet shpill.. Have an awesome day/evening/night!**_


	6. The Lair

"This place doesn't smell half bad, ya know, for a sewer." Jade and Raph walked down the tunnels underneath the city. Jade followed close behind Raph and kept a close eye out for anything and everything.

"Heh, yeah, once you get used to it, it's pretty easy to live down here." Raph said and continued to lead the way. "Almost there." He turned down a few more tunnels until he found tracks. "It's just over there." He said as he pointed down the abandoned rails. The walked along with Chinarose wining every now and again.

"It's okay, baby girl, we're almost there." Jade cooed. Raph stopped and gave the universal sign to keep quiet.

"I'm not sure how the guys are going to react so, uh, just follow me." They entered the lair and it was eerily quiet. "Huh.." Raph said as he lead Jade over to a den like area, a living room or sorts. "Wait here, I'm gonna go look for them." He told Jade and she simply gave a nod as she sat down with Chinarose. Meanwhile, Raph looked around and heard a voice coming from the far end of the lair: Splinter's Dojo. Raph gave a sigh and quietly walked in. He opened the door slightly and saw his three brother sitting in front of Splinter.

"Master Splinter, the Kraang are going to continue their experiments if we don't stop them." Leo said with concern.

"Yeah, and I'm not any closer to finding a retro mutagen." Donnie chimed in. "Who knows what they plan on doing if they succeed in their experimentation."

"The only way to succeed is to work as one." Splinter said as he walked across in front of them. "And that means staying together no matter the circumstances... Raphael." Splinter turned to the partially opened door and the others did as well. Raph sighed again and walked into the dojo.

"Hey guys.." He said as he went over to meet them.

"You okay?" Leo asked. Raph nodded in response then turned to Splinter.

"Leonardo told me what you told him, Raphael." Splinter said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "You mustn't let her cloud your mind. Your brothers come first. The mission at hand comes first."

"Hai, Sensei... but she needs our help." Raph pleaded. Leo stood up and went over to him.

"We will help her, but we have to figure out what the Kraang plan on doing first. If we can't stop them, everything will have been done in vein. Including helping Jade." there was silence and then a small sound. They all quickly turned, ready to defend if necessary. The intruder hesitated then slowly walk in.

"I told you to stay put!" Raph shouted in an annoyed and angry tone.

"Raphael! What is the meaning of this? Who is she!?" Splinter demanded. Leo pointed at her with his katana blade.

"You brought her to our lair? What's wrong with you!?" Leo put his katanas away and the others did the same with their weapons.

"Like I said, she needs our help! So are you three going to stand there like a bunch a dweebs or help her and her cat!?" Raph shouted and pointed at Chinarose.

"Her cat? Ugh, Raph, this is our lair, our home! Not a veterinarian's office!"

"Enough you two!" Splinter walked in between them and straight to Jade. "You must be Jade, welcome." He lowered his head as a sign of welcoming and respect. "Donatello." He called behind him. Donnie quickly went over to the two. "Take her and her.. cat.. to you lab. Do what ever you can to help the injured animal."

"Hai, Sensei." Donnie left, gesturing for Jade to follow. Raph grunted and went to follow them but Splinter held his hand up.

"Not you. Leonardo, Michelangelo. Leave us be; I'd like to speak to Raphael alone."

* * *

Jade followed Donnie through the lair, Leo and Mikey following close behind.

"Just through here." Donnie said as he opened a pair of double doors and walked into his lab.

"Whoa. You're pretty well set in here." She said as she looked around.

"Huh, yeah. I've got a lot of stuff that you don't need to get near. That means you too, Mikey!" Mikey was trying to play with some sort of tool and quickly put it down at the sound of his name.

"Heh, sorry Don." Mikey then took a few steps away from Donnie

"Jade, stay here with Donnie." Leo said as he grabbed Mikey and lightly pushed him to the door. "Mikey and I will wait in the den for you and Raph. Then we make a plan to figure out what the Kraang are up to.." Leo looked at Jade closely then left, closing the door behind him.

"He seems charming." Jade said as she followed Donnie to his lab table.

"That's Leo for you. He's our leader, so, he's always like that." Donnie began to set up what he needed to do a check up on Jade's cat. "But he's not that bad of guy. Once you get to know him." Donnie waved his hand over, gesturing to Jade to bring Chinarose over.

"Just set her here on my lab table." He said. Jade gently set down Chinarose. She whined a little, then hissed at Donnie.

"Hey, behave. He's going to help you." Chinarose gave a small and quiet mew, her ear twitching.

"Was that actual communication?" Donnie asked, slightly wowed.

"Yeah, since I got, well, mutated, I've seemed to be able to talk to cats. To Chinarose here at least." Jade pet her soft head gently, giving her a small smile. "I know what she wants to tell me and vise-versa."

"Incredible. I wonder to what extent that goes..." Donnie's thoughts drifted into the possibilities of communication between species. He started mumbling to himself, but Jade quickly knocked him out of it.

"Hey, Professor, we got a wounded animal that's putting blood stains on you table as you speak..." Jade noted in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry." Donnie went back to the task at hand. He began to gently examine the cat as Jade softly held her down so she wouldn't scratch or bite. "Her fore limbs seem to be fine. Cuts and scraps here and there, nothing that won't heal on it's own rather quickly."

"When I found her, a heavy wood bed frame was on her, I'm not sure where though. Check her back legs and her tail." Jade said with confidence. Donnie did so and felt something that didn't feel right.

"Well, I'm no cat expert, but it seems she has a fracture somewhere." Donnie picked up her back leg slightly, making Chinarose growl at him.

"That seems to be her fibula. If you can x-ray her, we could see if it has effected the tarsus at all, and check if her tibia is the actual problem." Jade said with certainty. Donnie looked at her, slightly amazed. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just. How do you know that at the top of your head?" Donnie asked as he went off to look for an x-ray machine.

"I'm pretty good at biology... and physics. And chemistry. And science in general. But math, eh, I'm decent, but I don't enjoy it. Biology, now that's my strong suit." Donnie chuckled and came back. He then started to set up his machine.

"No kidding? I wouldn't have taking you to be a woman of science, being Ra... nevermind." Donnie smirked to himself as he finished setting up.

"What was that?" Jade asked, raising a brow.

"Nothing,nothing at all..." Donnie clapped his hands together and looked to Jade. "Let's get to work!"


	7. Splinter?

Leo went back to the den with Mikey, and like classic Mikey, he ran to the t.v. and quickly turned it on.

"Dude, I found this new cartoon! It's about these kids who go out and solve mysteries on these awesome adventures and-" He looked over to Leo and realized he was distracted. "What's up?" Leo had gotten to the sofa and stopped. He didn't sit down, he just stopped and stood in front of it, standing over and looking at an object. Mikey got up to take a look for himself. "Dude!"

"Who's katana is this? It's not one of mine..." He gently picked it up and saw that it had the symbol of the Hamato Clan on the blade along with ancient script written down the side. The hilt had the head of a cat and the handle had a light blue ribbon tightly wrapped around it that was frayed and torn at some spots. It looked worn down and seemed to have been used long ago but also recently.

"What does that chicken scratch say?Mikey asked.

"It's not chicken scratch.. it's an ancient Japanese language. One that has been revised since it was last used." Leo stepped away from Mikey and moved the blade expertly around to get a feel for it. "At least that's what I think; I can't make any sense of it... This blade is pretty light, but it seems to be able to do plenty of damage." Just then, Raph came back with Master Splinter. Raph spotted Leo before Leo could see him and his well known rage started to boil.

"Hey! That ain't not yours!" Raph began to charge at him, but he was stopped by Splinter harshly grabbing a hold of his shoulder.

"Raphael! What did we just talk about?" Splinter looked down at him with an almost disappointing glare.

"Hai Sensei..." Raph muttered and closed his eyes and took a deep breath then looked again to his older brother. "Put that down, would ya? It's not yours." He said in a calmer tone.

"Bring it here, Leonardo." Splinter said as he held out his hand. As Leo got closer, Splinter's eyes grew wide as he got a better look at the blade.

"Zahir..." He muttered softly as he took it and looked at it closely. "Where did you get this?" He asked sternly.

"At Jade's apartment.." Raph cautiously said.

"Why.. How could she have had this? That's impossible..." He gripped the handle and closed his eyes as he lowered his head.

"Master Splinter... what is it?" Leo asked as he took another step towards him. Without hardly moving, Splinter started to speak in a dull voice.

"This katana has been passed down the centuries..." He paused and took a deep breath as he remembered he past.

"What does it sa-"

"'The strength of a daughter is her mother'..." Splinter, without even looking at the writing, answered Mikey's question before he could finish asking it. He then opened his eyes and looked away from his sons. "In the Hamato Clan, there was always a kunoichi. She would bare this katana and then would train and pass it on to her daughter or to a girl who she treated as one... The last to have it was Zahir."

"Who's that?" Mikey asked, only to get hit and shushed by Raph.

"Zahir was a dear friend of mine. I new her long before I even new Tang Shen. She was like a sister to me. I did love her, but not the same way I loved Tang Shen. She understood this and respected it, she even helped Tang Shen take care of Miwa. But then Oroku Saki, the Shredder, attacked the dojo. Once the fire had died, Zahir did as well. She was said to have been either killed by the fire, or killed by ambush of Foot ninja. Since she never had any children and never trained another, the blade was said to have been buried with her. Along with a legacy of kunoichi behind her..." Leo, Raph and Mikey all went to his sides.

"She seemed to be an honorable and noble warrior.. Her and her legacy have our utmost respect." Leo said as he bowed to Splinter and the katana. His brothers did the same.

"Thank you.." Splinter said as he held the katana close. Donnie then opened the door of his lab. Jade followed behind, holding Chinarose in a new towel.

"Well, we fixed her up! It actually wasn't that... what's going on?"Donnie realized what he saw and quickly went over to his brothers. Splinter ignored him and went straight for Jade. He got inches away from her, making Chinarose hiss at him.

"Uh, you're a little close.." Jade said as her fur stood up and she tensed.

"Why did you have this?" He asked her, there was a hint of anger in his eyes, but she could see it.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I have never seen it before tonight." She quickly said. She backed up and Splinter followed.

"Where did you find it?" He sternly asked, The turtles quickly went over and stood behind him.

"Sensei?..." Leo sounded nervous, but again, Splinter ignored them.

"Where!?"

"In my parent's room! I don't know why it was there!" Jade exclaimed. The boys then grabbed his arms and held him back and Jade backed up into a wall.

"Sensei!" Leo shouted. Splinter came to realize what he was doing. He backed away and looked at all of them.

"I.. I'm sorry, Jade..." He said and began to quickly walked away, taking the sword with him. There was silence for a few moments then Jade went over to Raph.

"I better get going... Could you take car of Chinarose for me while I'm away?" She asked as she handed him her cat.

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll make sure I keep her away from Mikey... Do you have to go? You could stay here." The other three turtles stayed quiet as they watched to two.

"After that?" She pointed to the direction that Splinter went off to. "I'd rather not."

"That's... that's fair..." Raph said in a disappointed and sad tone. "Will you come back?"

"Yeah, of course. You just have to find me first." She said and smiled. Raph chuckled and nodded. "See you guys." She then left the turtles and the others all looked at Raph. Mikey smirked along with Donnie, but Leo just looked at him.

"Knock it off." Raph shoved past his two younger brother and went to his room, but he was stopped by Leo. "What? Can't a turtle walk away without getting stopped around here?"

"Raph, I have a bad feeling about her." Leo said strictly.

"A bad feeling? Give me a break." Raph pushed past and went inside his room. He shut the door, But Leo stopped it with his foot.

"I'm serious, Raph. Something's not right with her."

"Yeah, and something's not right with you going goo-goo eyes for Karai either, but you don't see me doing anything to stop ya."

"Shut up and listen! She so happens to be at the zoo when the Kraang are, she convinces you to take her to out _lair_ , she own an ancient sword that was supposed to be buried and you don't find anything about that suspicious?"

"No, I don't. And she didn't convince me! I offered. And the zoo thing was chance. And the sword..." Raph looked away from Leo, realizing he had no explanation for it. "The sword could be a fake, a model or whatever.." Leo scoffed and shook his head.

"No. That katana is real. And shouldn't be with her." Raph clutched the door, trying to keep his cool and not slam the door in his face.

"Yeah, well, you shouldn't be in my room! Go away!" Leo stepped back and Raph lost it and slammed the door shut. He sighed and took a deep breath. "Sorry about that, China..." He said as he looked down at the cat he sill held. "Leo can be real...real annoying sometimes."


End file.
